For the Softball Grounder Paddle Drill you can make paddles with straps out of ping pong paddles and stapled a strap on to the back of the paddle or you can even use the paddles that you get from the Velcro paddle with the Velcro ball sets. You could even use a piece of plastic and cut a circle and put straps on it. The other option is to have the fielders field with glove closed using the front of the glove to field the ball.
Have the players strap on the paddles and hit them tennis balls or even the light flight balls on the ground. This will give them confidence that they will not get hurt in the process so they will be aggressive in fielding the ball. This teaches them to go to the ball with both hands and to have soft hands. It also teaches them to watch the ball all the way to the glove.
Softball Grounder Paddle Drill
Set up in 2 lines across from each other. The players toss the ground balls to each other, fielding it with their closed glove or paddle. During this drill it is important to focus on the mechanics of the drill and getting down in front of the ball whether it is in front of them or to the side. Once they get confident with that procedure, then the coach can hit tennis balls or lite flight balls to them using the same fielding procedure so they can adjust to seeing the ball off the bat. Increase the velocity of the ball as the players get more confident
When the coach feels they are ready, have the players field the ball with their gloves open using the same progressions as with the gloves closed or the paddles. Start with using the tennis or lite flight balls then the real balls. Start slow and then increase the velocity until you get to game like conditions. This is a great drill for new softball players or when the team seems to be having trouble with ground balls during games.
